Type-writing machine.



A. C. ROEBUCK.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED N0v.12. I913.

Patented July 20, 1915.

COLUMBIA PLANOURAFH C0-.wASH|NnTON, D. c.

ALVAH G. ROEBUCK, OF WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 20, 1915.

' Application filed November 12, 1913. Serial No. 800,434.

. a citizen of the United States, residingat Woodstock, in the county of .McHenry and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Type-Writing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to typewriters, and more particularly to a platen shift key and the means for locking the shift'key in upper case position. i

The principal object of the inventionis to. provide new and improved means for main-;

taining thelshiftkey'in its upper case position.

The invention consists in-the features of novelty in the construction, combination and arrangement of the several parts generally shown and described in the specification, but more particularly pointed out in the .appended claims. y

In the drawings, Figure l is a view in elevation illustrating the invention, parts of the typewriting machinebeing omitted for clearness; Fig. 2 is a detail view with the locking latch in engaging position; and Fig. 3 is a sectional detail on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings the numeral 3 designates generally a typewriterframe in which a carriage 4 is mounted in the well known manner upon ways 5, and a rotary member 6 is supported by the carriage and is adapted'to engage a rail 7 carried by a pivotally mounted member 8 having an engaging surface 9, the movement of which member. 8 causes the movement of the platen 10to the upper and lower case positions in the well known manner. Abutting the engaging surface9 of the pivotally mounted member 8 is one extremity 11 of a shiftkey 12, whlch 1s; plvotally mounted adjacent the rear of the machine in a support 13, whichsupport also carries a spring 14 with an ad usting screw 15, for pressing the shift key normally upward. The forward end of thezshift key 12 1s provided with a finger button base16 by means of which it may be depressed against the spring 14 to raise the platen 10 nto upper case position. A slotted guide 17 1s dlsposed at the front of the machine with a detent 18 projecting therefrom to engage a lateral projection 19 on the key 12 to .l1m1t the ment of the lock lever.

downward movement thereof. This shift key is formed with a depending projection 29 having a curved face formed with a radlus from the axis of the keylever or with a notch 22 at. a distance fromthe extremity of the pro ection and at right angles to the vertical forwardface. Pivotally connected to the key 12 adjacent the forward end is a lock lever 23 having a finger button 24 at one end and the other end having a portion 25, one edge of which forms a continuation of the vertical surface 21 when the lever is in normal position, and with a wedging surface 26 which extends from. the point of the notch 22 downwardly and rearwardly there from and at an angle to the vertical face. This lever 23 is also provided with a slot 27 through which a pin 28 projecting from the lever 12 extends tolimit the rotative move- The lever is also formed with an arm 29, and extending between the arm 29 and the pin 28 is a spring 30 which tends to draw the,lock lever in such a position that the portion 25 covers the notch 22 and forms a continuation of the vertical surface 21. j

A latch 31 is pivotally m unted on a pin 35 secured to the frame of the machine and comprises an engaging arm 32 having a lateral edged lip 34 adapted to bear against the vertical surface 21' and to engage in the notch 22 when the key is depressed and when the notch is uncovered by the rotation of the lever 23, and an arm 33 which forms a weight for pressing the lip 34 yieldingly against the said vertical surface and tend ing to cause the engagement of the latch with the notch; Upon releasing the finger pressure on button 24, the upward pressure of spring 14 against the key 12 will exert sufficient upward pressure on lip 34 to prevent the wedgingsurface 26 from moving the lip 34 out of engagement with the notch 22 of the shift key.

In operation when it is desired only to shift the platen for a single characteror to hold the shift key down'manually, the key is depressed by pressure on the button 16, but when it is desired to lock the key in upper case position the shift key 12 is rotated by pressure on the button 24 of the lever 23 which rotates the lever and uncovers the notch 22 and permits the lip 34 of the latch 31 to engage in the notch. To return the key to normal or lower case position all that. is necessary is a slight pressure on the forward end of the key 12 by pressing the button 16 sufficiently to relieve the upward pressure of the spring 14 which holds the lateral lip 34 in engagement with notch 22, whereupon the Wedging surface 26 of the lever 28, through the action of its spring 30 will wedge the lip 3a of the latch out of engagement'with the notch 22.

What I claim is:

1. In a typewriter, a shift key havinga depending projection. with a notch in the face thereof, a lock lever pivoted to the key .7 with a depending portion normally to cover the notch, and means to engage the notch when the shift key is depressed and the lock lever moved to uncover the notch.

2. In a typewriter, a shift key having a depending portion with a straight edge on one side and a notch at the top of the straight edge at a distance fromthe eXtrem-- ity of the projection, a lock leverpivotally connected to the key and having an arm'- adapted to form a continuation of the straight surface of the projection on the shift key, and a latch adapted to engage in the said notch when the shift key is depressed by moving the lock lever to uncover the notch.

3. In a typewriter, a pivotally mounted shift key having a projection with a vertical face with a notch at the top of the face at a distance from the end of the projection, a pivotally mounted latch adapted to bear yieldingly on the said vertical surface and to engage in the notch when the shift key is depressed, and a lock lever pivotally mounted on the shift key having a portion normally forming a continuation of said vertical surface and preventing the engagement of the latch with the notch and movable about its pivot to permit the latch to engage thenotch when the key is-depressed.

4: In a typewriter, a pivotally mounted shift key having a projection with a vertical face in which there is a notch at a distance from the end of the projection, a pivotally mounted latch adapted to bear yieldingly 1 on the said vertical surface and to engage in the notch when the shift key isdepressed, a lock lever having a projection to form a continuation of the said vertical surface and normally to prevent the latch from engaging in the notch of the shift key, a pin on the shift key, the said lock lever being formed with a slot in which the pin projects to limit the pivotal movement of the lever, and a spring connecting the lock lever with the pin to hold the lever yieldingly in position to prevent the engagement of said latch.

5. In a typewriter, a frame, a shiftable platen, a pivotally mounted key for shifting the platen, a stop on the key to engage the frame to limit the movement of the key, the

a lock lever having a button base at one end and a projection at the other end adapted to form a continuation of the said vertical face and with a beveled extremity pivotally con nected tothe side of the shift key, means to limit the movement of the lock lever with respect to the shift key, a spring connecting the lock lever and the key to hold the lever in position to. cover the notch, and a pivotally mounted latch comprising a lever with one arm formed to engage the notch of the shift key when the lock lever is rotated against the spring and theiotherarm. form.-

ing a weighted projection to press the en gaging arm yieldingly in contact with the verticalfacein position to engage the notch.

6. In a typewriter, a shift key formed with a depending projection having a substantially vertical front face with a notch at right angles thereto at a distance from the-end of the projection, a lock lever pivotally connected to the shift key having an arm forming a continuation ofthe vertical face from the angular point of thenotch and with a wedging surface extending rearwardly from the point of the notch, means in connection with the lever and shift. key to hold the lever yieldingly in position to form a continuation of said vertical surface, and

a weighted pivoted: latch bearing yieldingly against the vertical surface and adapted to engagethenotch when the lock lever isrotated with respect to the key, the beveled extremity ofthe lock lever being adapted .to press the latch out of engagement with the notch by the pressure of the said resilient means. i

7. In: a typewriter, a shift key having a depending projection with a notch in the,

edgethereof, a lock lever pivoted to the key with a, portion to cover and uncover the notch at the side thereof, and a pivotally mounted latchwith an armhaving a lateral projection adapted to engage in the notch and the other arm acting as a weight to press the projectionyieldingly into engaging' position. 7

8. In a typewriter, a shift key having a depending notched projection, a lock lever pivoted to the key having a wedgingsurface:

at the end, a pivotally mounted weighted. latch with a'lateral projection having an inclined surface, a spring tending to press the shift key to hold the projection of thelatch in the notch, and a spring in connection with the lock lever to press the wedgingsurface against the inclined surface of the lateral.

projection when the latter is in the notch,

9. In a typewriter, a shift keyhaving a depending engageable projection, a. pivotally mounted latch with one arm to engage the lever and with another arm weighted to name to this specification, in the presence of hold the lever in such engagement, and a two subscribing witnesses, on this 7th day of 10 lock lever pivoted to the shift key adapted November A. D. 1913.

to prevent the engagement of the latch when 5 the key alone is depressed and to permit such ALVAH ROEBUCK' engagement when the lock lever is moved Witnesses: relatively to the key. CHARLEs H. SEEM,

In testimony whereof I have signed my KENT W. WONNELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0. 

